Greetings and salutations you wonderful little mumblers! We need to address a problem that's fairly small on an individual basis, but unfortunately widespread enough to make this forum much less pleasant than it could be: hostility. It is the hope of everyone on the staff that our members will help us make Silent Hill Heaven a friendlier place, since you guys make this forum what it is.

What follows are a few basic guidelines to keep in mind before sending another potential contributor running for cover or painting a giant target on your back:

Please treat every member with respect and you'll find that you are more respected as well.

If a new member doesn't know something that you think they should, calmly explain the information instead of just telling them to play the game. As long as you're making a post, it might as well be informative. Even you had to start somewhere.

If a long-time member corrects something you've said, don't assume that they're being condescending. If you feel offended by something you can't quite put your finger on ("It's not what he said, it's how he said it.") you're probably reading too much into the post. Let it go and calmly move on.

If the information a new member is seeking has been addressed in other threads, it's not very helpful to just say "it's already been discussed." It is very helpful to link those threads or summarize what you remember.

Reread every post you make before hitting the "Submit" button. If anything in the content would offend you if your roles were reversed, change it.

You don't have to have the last word. If an argument is going nowhere, feel free to step away. Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. (thanks, Iroh)

You can flag questionable posts using the [!] button. Don't feel obligated to deal with belligerence yourself, just report it and let a moderator handle the situation.

Even if you consider a member to be flaming, a troll, or ignorant of every forum rule, that doesn't mean you have a free pass to step on them or retaliate in kind. Be polite to everyone, not just those that you think deserve it.

So, in short: be considerate. You share at least one interest with every member of this forum. From that common ground, we have a large community that consists of many personality types with various tolerances for bluntness. If anyone is afraid to voice their opinion here because of the treatment they've seen other members receive, then Silent Hill Heaven will be the poorer for it. Help us keep the forum friendly and remember that the staff loves you all! (little demons)